The euro has fallen sharply on the foreign exchange markets in late trading after reports Greece is preparing to leave the eurozone. Athens has denied the reports.

The Greek deputy finance minister, Filippos Sachinidis, told Reuters: "The report about Greece leaving the eurozone is untrue. Such reports undermine Greece and the euro and serve market speculation games."

The euro has had its worst week since January, and has fallen 1% to below $1.4400 after a report on the Der Spiegel website that a secret crisis meeting is being held in Luxembourg on Friday evening to discuss the situation of the heavily indebted Greek nation.

The report said that the Greek prime minister, George Papandreou, felt he had no option but to leave the eurozone and that Germany intended to prevent the country tearing up the decade-old single currency.

Quoting a document which it said was prepared by the German finance ministry, Der Spiegel said that a new Greek currency could lose as much 50% of its value if Greece pulls out of the eurozone, leading to an explosion in Greek national debt and crippling its banking system.

A German government source told Reuters after the report that: "An exit is not planned and was not planned."

A spokesman for French finance minister Christine Lagarde refused to comment.

About this article

Euro plunges after reports Greece could leave currency

This article was published on
the Guardian website
at 13.26 EDT on Friday 6 May 2011.
It was last modified at 05.21 EDT on Tuesday 20 May 2014.
It was first published at 12.59 EDT on Friday 6 May 2011.